


You Took My Sunshine Away

by Starsintheireyes



Category: Pitch Perfect (Movies)
Genre: Angst, F/F, I'm Sorry, I'm just really sorry, One-Shot, bechloe have a child, like really really sorry
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-13
Updated: 2018-05-13
Packaged: 2019-05-06 07:31:03
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,083
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14637045
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Starsintheireyes/pseuds/Starsintheireyes
Summary: Beca didn’t wish very often. When she did it was paired with sarcasm, usually something along the lines of “I wish Aubrey would just stop being so darn nice all the time”. Or it was followed by a regret “I wish I hadn’t had that last glass of wine last night.” Chloe would ignore them; maybe respond with an impressive eye roll she had learned from Beca.But the point was, Beca didn't wish very often**or**The sad angsty fic that people actually asked for, where Beca has to unwillingly drag up her memories of Chloe, in order to tell their daughter exactly what her mother was like.





	You Took My Sunshine Away

**Author's Note:**

> Nicel, Jaden, Aly (yep you too) this is for you guys *sigh*. Still can't believe you convinced me to do this. Anyway, I'm sorry about this everyone.

The roads were silent, give or take a few cars. The lack of horns and screeching tyres allowed Chloe to lean her head back against the headrest, eyes fluttering shut. She could hear Beca humming, under her breath, along with the music seeping from the car stereo. The light beneath her eyelids was flickering as they drove past every lamp post.

“I had such a good time tonight Becs.”

She heard Beca shift, one hand leaving the steering wheel to cover Chloe’s, her thumb stroking over the soft skin before pulling away. “Me too, our date nights are the best. Better than Aubrey and Stacie’s you know.”

Chloe giggled, still leaning back. “It’s not a competition, and don’t say that in front of them. They are baby-sitting for us tonight.”

“I only speak the truth Beale.” Beca paused. “But yes, let’s keep that between us.”

They fell into a comfortable silence once again, interrupted on the odd occasion that Beca would drum her fingertips on the wheel, something Chloe found lulled her even further into a sleep-like state. Chloe felt the car stop and she opened her eyes to look around, only to find it was a set of lights. Beca’s gaze had lifted up and when they began moving again, she tried to drift back off.

“Hey Chloe?”

Jolted awake, she sat up straight against the seat. “Yeah?”

“I’ve decided to stop touring.”

Chloe’s head turned so sharply to the left, Beca thought she might have got whiplash. “Wait, seriously? You’re not joking, are you?”

The sheer happiness in her voice made Beca roll her eyes. “Jeez Beale sound a little less enthused why don’t you.”

“I’m sorry.” Chloe bit her lip. “I just hate you being away from me, from us, for so long.”

They had stopped again, and Beca took that time to glance over at her fiancée, loving the way her eyes were shining in the streetlight. “I hate it too, and that’s why I’ve decided it’s time. The touring life is great, but it’s not what I want my life to be. I want to spend more time with my family. With you and with Melody.

Chloe felt her vision begin to blur and she blinked to hold back the tears. “I love you so much Beca.” She leaned over to press her lips against her fiancée’s cheek.

“I love you too.” She let out a breath. “Hey Chlo can you just grab my wallet from the glove compartment.”

Chloe raised an eyebrow but complied, clicking it open and reaching for the small object that had been thrown without caution onto a pile of manuals. “Just open it up.” Flicking it open, Chloe saw a photo that resided in one of the left pockets, releasing a small gasp as she did. It was from Beca’s first tour and consisted of Chloe embracing Beca in her arms after she had finished her last song of the night, glitter falling around them. Her eyes were squeezed shut, her smile blinding, and Chloe remembered exactly how she felt in that moment. Overwhelmed, but oh so proud.

“I can’t believe you have this in here.”

It was dark, but not dark enough for Beca to hide her blush. Whether or not Chloe saw it, she was unsure. “I want you there at my last performance. I want you and Melody on stage with me, and we’re gonna sing my last song together.”

Chloe was doing a god-awful job at keeping her emotions in check, though the odds were against her. She was breathing in waves, shudders almost, restraining herself from launching across the centre console and wrapping her arms around Beca. “Didn’t peg you as the cheesy type Mitchell.” They laughed, and Chloe swore her heart could be heard thudding beneath her chest. “I would want nothing more Beca, than for me and our daughter to be by your side.”

“Don’t make me cry Beale, you’re going to ruin my reputation.”

“Oh honey, that was ruined years ago.”

Beca didn’t wish very often. When she did it was paired with sarcasm, usually something along the lines of “I wish Aubrey would just stop being so darn nice all the time”. Or it was followed by a regret “I wish I hadn’t had that last glass of wine last night.” Chloe would ignore them; maybe respond with an impressive eyeroll she had learned from Beca. Beca would wish to go home, when she was on the final stretch of her tour, she’d wish to be back in bed with her fiancée or telling bedtime stories to Melody.

But the point was, Beca didn’t wish very often.

Saying that, there were thousands of times Beca had wished that night, in the car, with Chloe. She wished she’d stayed in the restaurant that little bit longer. She wished she’d paused at the intersection or the traffic lights just an extra few seconds. She wished she’d driven slower, or maybe even faster. She wished she had noticed the rev of a speeding car in the distance, or the headlights moving towards her at rapid speed before it was too late.

 

* * *

 

 

Pain. That’s what she could feel, just pain. Her eyelids seemed welded shut, and Beca had no idea how long she had had them closed for. Though when she blinked and took in her surroundings, she concluded it couldn’t have been less than 3 minutes. She was still in her car, sat in the driver’s seat, but her hands had dropped from the steering wheel. Turning her head, she winced as agony shot down her right side, though it didn’t matter when she took in Chloe. Her fiancée, her soulmate, was leaning back with her eyes closed. _Unconscious **,**_ Beca assumed. Chloe had blood trickling from every patch of bare skin on her body. The passenger door had been caved in, and Beca prayed there wasn’t any metal sticking into Chloe. The sight made her sob, panic rising in her chest and though the pain kicked in, she didn’t care as she tried to get closer to her.

“Chloe? Chloe, baby wake up, please. Just open your eyes for me.” She didn’t move, there was no stirring, no sounds, no twitch of a finger, nothing. “I-It’s going to be okay, I promise.” Her voice was weak, scratched like an old vinyl. “Hang in there for me, alright? I’m right here, I’m not leaving, just open your eyes.” Still, there was no movement. “Our little sunshine is waiting for us back home, a-and she’ll be expecting you to read her a story so you gotta open those eyes. P-please Chloe, just…”

The real pain hit her then. Whether it was the position she was in, or the shock had died down, but Beca’s vision began to blur. Edges began to fade into black, smoke tickled her nostrils, and as she heard the distant sirens, a final word slipped past her lips.

“Chloe.”

 

* * *

 

 

The photo had been burnt at the edges, jagged to the touch and covered in a layer of dust. It was as if half way through, someone decided not to burn it after all, the creases suggesting it had been battered on every surface in order to put the fire out. It was still visible, but not how it was supposed to look.

“Mom? Who’s in this photo?”

The room was cluttered, boxes placed everywhere and in no particular order. There were photos, frames, photos in frames, photo albums, everything. Beca tripped a little making her way over but managed to avoid placing any footprints on the pictures. Though her balance was lost when she saw the photo dangling from her daughter’s grasp. It made her heart thud in her chest, and she sucked in a deep breath.

“Oh god. It’s been a few years since I’ve seen that photo.” She was trying her best to keep herself collected, calm and cool. Her resolve peeling away the longer she stared at the image.

“And why is it burnt?”

Instead of responding, Beca took it out of Melody’s grasp, she moved a few paces away and sat down on the carpet. Her thumb began to trace over the figures, stopping once it reached Chloe. _Chloe_. Her red hair had faded from age, but her eyes still looked as bright. Beca broke her stare when she felt a tear drop down on the picture, wiping it away with fury.

“Mom, are you okay?”

“Yeah I’m fine. Shall we keep looking through these?”

“Who’s in the photo?”

Beca sighed, hoping Melody had forgotten. Instead, she looked at her mother with intent, and Beca let her head drop in weariness.

“Is it…is it Chloe?”

At the sound of her name coming out of her daughter’s mouth, Beca stiffened, her eyebrows furrowing and her glare steady across her face.

“H-how do you know her name?”

Beca didn’t even say it anymore. She stopped a few months after the accident and would walk out of the room if ever her name slipped past Aubrey or Stacie’s lips. Or Jesse’s for that matter, who was one of few that had stuck around after the accident. One of few who wasn’t deterred from Beca’s coping strategies, which consisted of simply pushing everyone away, except her daughter. Melody was the last part she had of Chloe, and she wasn’t going to lose her.

“Mom I-”

“I’m not going to ask you again Melody. How do you know her name?”

Beca felt guilty when her daughter shrunk under her stare and tone, hating that her daughter could fear her in any way. And, she often found herself thinking _What Would Chloe Do?_ How would she react, how would she handle it? Probably better than Beca ever could.

“Well you weren’t telling me anything and I kept asking why I only had one parent so-” She stopped, Beca’s glare said enough for her to stop rambling. “Stacie told me. You were out at the studio one night; Aubrey and Stacie were babysitting and I asked them if I had any other parents. They went really quiet so I knew they were hiding something, and eventually she told me. All about her actually, and she showed me a few photos she had on her phone. She looks quite like me.”

Beca took in her daughter’s red hair, a trait she only could’ve got from Chloe. Melody was in every way Beca’s daughter, except when it came to biology. She had Chloe’s eyes, and Chloe’s hair, and Chloe’s personality. When it became even more evident at a young age, that she was going to be a mini-Chloe, Beca began therapy. One hour every two weeks when her daughter was at school, and no one was none the wiser. She talked about Chloe, about Melody, about how every time she saw Melody it broke her just that little bit more. How her daughter reminded her so much of her fiancée, that being in the same room as her at times was a challenge.

Stacie was the first to find out. Hearing a voicemail from her therapist when she was waiting for Beca to get Melody ready. It was quick, but the information was all Stacie needed. She mentioned it to Beca, how she knew, and though the initial reaction wasn’t the one she desired, Stacie calmed her down. Beca realised a few days later, that the burden of this secret had been lifted of her chest.

“She looks exactly like you.” Her voice had dropped in volume, turning back to the picture still gripped between her fingertips. She let her thumb run over the burnt edge, remembering when it had been handed back to her.

 

* * *

 

 

_(Flashback)_

**_“_ ** _We managed to salvage a few things from the wreckage. A lot of it got caught up in the fire.” The officer was about to walk away but decided to place his hand on Beca’s shoulder. “I’m very sorry Miss Mitchell.”_

_He had given her a small, see-through plastic bag, that was smaller than Beca would’ve liked. Inside consisted of a mixture, some Chloe’s things and some hers. What stood out, was the picture, and Beca almost ripped the plastic bag in two trying to get it out. She held it to her chest, let her knees collapse from under her, and sunk onto the floors of the police precinct. Not caring how she looked. She didn’t care if people were staring, she didn’t care if they were whispering about her. She just didn’t_ care.

 

* * *

 

 

Beca had to brush away the tears brimming in her eyes. She had stuffed that memory so far back in her mind, she thought it was impossible to resurface. She purposely hid the photo away, thrown in a random box so she would forget how to find it. Though there was a part of her, that felt the reunion was overdue. She missed opening her wallet every day and seeing Chloe smile directly to her. It was too hard after the accident, too hard to realise that she’d never see that smile again, and the memory of Chloe in that photo was slowly fading.

“I’m sorry I shouldn’t have brought it up.” Melody began to backtrack, reaching to bury the picture once again, but Beca kept it out her grasp.

“No, it’s….it’s okay. It was probably time I told you about her anyway. She was your mom.”

Beca’s voice was wavering, unsteady, breaths coming out in shudders. She’d never prepared herself for this talk, though it was inevitable, her mindset was ‘she would cross that bridge when it came to it.’

“I’m not telling you about her here, come on.”

Beca stood up and her daughter followed suit, albeit with a significant amount of confusion on her face. She followed her mother downstairs, grabbed her coat, followed her out the car, and sat patiently whilst Beca paused. Getting in a car, any car, was still unnerving to Beca, and though she had improved throughout the years, she knew that part of her would never disappear. She turned the ignition, reminded her daughter to put on her seatbelt, and pulled out of the driveway.

“Where are we going?” It had been a few minutes of silence before Melody’s curious nature got the best of her, and her voice rang out along with the slow rumble of their car.

“Somewhere we should’ve gone a long time ago.”

Unpicking her mother’s riddles was not Melody’s favourite past-time, and it was situations like this that she wished Beca would just be straight with her, instead of keeping her in the dark. Though she didn’t reply, turning her head forward to face the road, she took her eyes off her mother’s stiffened posture.

They pulled up along a dirt road, a church resided metres away. It was only when they got out the car, that Melody noticed the graveyard. Rows and rows, scattered headstones, and she gulped when Beca began to walk closer to them. She spun around to see if her daughter was following her, and Melody shot into action after she did, matching the pace and rhythm of Beca’s steps.

Beca pushed open a small gate, and the volume at which it clicked shut would’ve been much less obnoxious had they not been walking in complete silence. At first, Melody assumed the lack of conversation was out of respect, but the longer she followed her mother, the more she realised it was simply because Beca couldn’t get any words out. They kept walking, zigzagging round the graves, each one making Melody’s stomach turn, until Beca made an abrupt decision to stop, her daughter almost bumping into the back of her.

“Why did you…” Melody trailed off, her words caught in her throat as she caught sight of the headstone in front of her.

 

 _Chloe Rose Beale_  
7 th June 1990 – 23rd August 2023  
A beloved Fiancée and Mother  
The sun will never shine as brightly.  
She will always be missed.

Despite her avoidance of this place, Beca had the words imprinted into her mind. She should have, she chose them. She remembered having to write them down, send them off, and see her words engraved into her soulmate’s gravestone, something Beca thought no one should have to see, ever. It was lucky for them, that when Beca sat down on the grass, and Melody copied her, that the rain had eased of several days prior. The dry grass serving as a comfortable seat. Beca took a deep breath.

“Your Mom was extraordinary.” Melody lifted her head in surprise, not expecting her mother to start talking, and not expecting the level of shakiness that came with it. “She would walk into a room and light it up, literally. She was my entire world and not a day went by that I didn’t think about her, not a day _goes_ by actually. She was the best Mom. Better than me can you believe.” The sarcasm was difficult to detect with the amount of emotion in her words, but a well-rehearsed Melody picked it out. “She would come home from work, pick you up and twirl you around the room until you laughed so much I swore you were going to throw up. She knew exactly what to do when you cried, I was clueless. I would’ve been so lost in those first few months had I not had Chloe guiding me. She was self-less, put herself before others without a second thought, she was a little too trusting sometimes.” Beca chuckled through the tears.

Melody didn’t speak, she barely moved. Instead, she let her mother talk in a way she’d never heard her talk before. So open and heart-felt, and Melody was finding it hard to keep herself together.

“You know how people say, that there’s one person out there for you who you’re meant to be with, more than anyone else?” Beca glanced over at her daughter to watch her nod, wiping her eyes before she continued. “Well, that was Chloe. She was, my soulmate, she still is.” Melody opened her mouth to speak, to try and reply in any way that would deem appropriate given what her mother had just told her, but Beca carried on before she could. “Do you know why I never talked about your mom until now? Why I never talked about her in general, for years almost?”

Melody shook her head. “Because the thought of talking about Chloe in past tense, killed me more than anything else. The accident was one thing but accepting the fact that she’d gone was another. Saying things like ‘I loved her’ or ‘She was so beautiful’ even though I still love her and she still is beautiful, made me go crazy. Like I was being forced to move on. You can never make someone get over a death like that, it takes so much time and patience and acceptance. Sometimes, you’ll never achieve that.”

The silence wasn’t as overbearing this time, and Beca felt as if a weight had been lifted off her chest. She looked over at Melody, who was wiping her stained cheeks, and pulled her daughter close to her.

“Have you got over her? Do you think you’ll ever get over her?” Melody’s voice was quiet.

“No. I never will.”

That was it. There was no elaborate explanation that followed, just a simple 4 words that held more meaning than an entire essay of feelings. Chloe Beale, in Beca’s mind, was someone you were never meant to get over. She was someone you had to remember, because she deserved that, she deserved to have every detail of her cherished.

“I wish I could remember her.”

It was at that point, that Beca broke. Chloe’s accident hadn’t affected Melody in the way it had affected Beca. It hadn’t made her want to curl up into a ball, rock back and forth for days whilst refusing to accept the fact that Chloe was gone. It hadn’t made her push everyone in her life away, nor had it stopped her from getting out of bed in the morning. It hadn’t taken away the light behind her eyes. It hadn’t taken away one of her reasons for living. In fact, Beca wondered what her daughter had felt that first Monday Chloe didn’t arrive back from work. There was no twirling in the living room, no one telling them to ‘put the baby down before she’s sick all over you’, there was nothing. Had she noticed? Wondered where Chloe was? Were her excruciating cries that night, for Chloe? Or was she too little to understand, to fully grasp the significance of Chloe?

“You were so young, it would’ve been impossible.”

Melody gulped down the lump in her throat, her gaze still fixated on the engraved words. “She came up with my name, didn’t she?”

Beca chuckled at that, the sound reverberating through her chest. “She insisted it had to be musical related. Initially I refused, but then she mentioned Melody and it…it just seemed to fit. Without music, I wouldn’t have been with her, we wouldn’t have had you. I can’t imagine my life without either one.”

Beca stood up a few moments later, gently pulling up Melody with her. She sniffled, understanding that it was time to go, and walked a few paces away towards the car. When she realised her mother wasn’t following her, she turned back around.

“Mom come on.” Her tone wasn’t harsh, it was delicate, guiding, and reminded Beca oh so much of Chloe.

“Go wait in the car okay? I’ll just be a few minutes.”

Melody caught the keys Beca threw in her direction, understanding what her mother was doing, before making her way from the graveyard. Beca watched her for a moment or two, until she was sure her daughter was out of earshot. There were some things Beca needed do to alone.

“Hi Chloe, it’s me, though you probably already know that.” Beca had never felt awkward around Chloe, and though she could’ve argued this wasn’t the same, she hated that she didn’t know what to say. “Melody’s in the car, I just needed to get a few things off my chest. A few apologies really.” Beca shut her eyes. “I’m sorry that I haven’t visited you as much as I should’ve, the thought of you being alone kills me, but the thought of standing in front of your grave kills me even more.” She bit her trembling lip, letting the last few waves of emotion wash through her. “I-I’m sorry I let this happen to you Chloe. I think about that night, how a few seconds could’ve saved you, and those few seconds were up to me.”

Beca opened her eyes, picturing Chloe standing before her, red hair, smile and all. It was then, that the sun appeared behind the clouds, as if a beacon of light had just been turned towards Beca. As if Chloe was finding her own way to comfort her.

“I wish you were still here Chloe. I miss your voice, and I’m scared that one day I won’t be able to remember what it sounds like. I’m scared that one day I won’t be able to picture you as easily as I can now.” The sun didn’t die down, it didn’t hide away, it stayed on Beca, as if it was listening. She let her fingertips brush over the top of the headstone.

“I have to go now, Melody’s waiting for me. She’s…She’s so gorgeous Chloe, she’s so smart and so happy all the time, it reminds me so much of you. You’d be so proud of how she’d turned out, I know you would.” Beca took a step away, her heart wrenching at the movement, but she ignored it and continued. As she walked backwards, away from the grave and towards the car, she held her hand up in a little wave.

“Bye Chlo.”

It was a whisper, and the nickname slipped so easily passed her lips that it shocked Beca. But a pang of guilt rose in her chest as she realised how few times she’d spoken that name since the accident.

Melody was in the driver’s seat when she got back, and Beca laughed before telling her that ‘your legs are too short to reach the pedals so get out’. She started the car and pulled away from the church.

The sun didn’t stop shining for the rest of the day.


End file.
